Penn State Coach Makes Blunt Comment About His QB's Poor Play

James Franklin wasn't impressed by what he saw out of Sean Clifford over the weekend.

Penn State struggled during a 17-7 win over a really bad Northwestern team Saturday, and Clifford's play definitely didn't set the world on fire as he finished with 140 passing yards.

Now, Franklin has made it crystal clear what he saw wasn't acceptable.

"Ten of 20 with one interception and one touchdown. Obviously, that is not up to the standard that he normally plays at. Obviously, though, the one interception, there could have been a couple others," Franklin said after the Nittany Lions beat the Wildcats 17-7, according to 247Sports.

Sean Clifford has inconsistent play, and James Franklin is growing frustrated.

The Nittany Lions are 5-0 with a huge win on the road against Auburn and a nice win against an Aidan O'Connell-led Purdue squad.

However, Clifford hasn't been able to string together a consistent run. In five games, he's thrown for more than 250 yards just once - against Purdue for 282 - and he's finished with a sub-55% completion rate.

Penn State is 5-0. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Yes, he has nine interceptions to just two interceptions, but that hardly tells the whole story. When it comes to the eye test, it's clear he's not being as consistent as fans would like.

He rolled down to Auburn and completed 73.7% of his passes in a game where he wasn't asked to do much, and then struggled mightily against a very bad Northwestern team. If you're a fan of the Nittany Lions, you don't want to see play swings like that.

James Franklin talks Sean Clifford's play. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Hopefully, Clifford gets it together down the stretch. If he doesn't, PSU could be in some trouble against good teams.